Your pit stop for all the camping
supplies you’ll need once you’re out of the saddle. This huge Southeast
Grand Avenue shop is locally owned and budget-minded, with crazy
closeout deals and a bargain basement stocked with used gear. From
high-end, super lightweight tents built by Mountain Hardwear to wool
socks at cotton prices, Next Adventure has the hookup.

A nonprofit that leads bike camping trips
around Portland, Cycle Wild maintains an online trove of touring
information. Find gear lists and trip reports, as well as cue sheets for
several routes all within Portland’s “rideshed”—in other words, the
distance that you can travel from Portland, with a loaded bike, in one
day. The emphasis is on low-cost trips, geared toward people who’d
rather stay in a tent than at a cozy B&B, but they’re not
off-puttingly hardcore and definitely not speed-obsessed. Sign up for
the email list to be notified about organized trips, which tend to fill
up quickly. Cycle Wild’s Shawn Granton also puts out a petite but super
useful Cycle Touring Primer for $3.

Ellee Thalheimer (see profile, page 32) knows bike touring
in the Pacific Northwest better than almost anyone, and her buoyantly
written guidebooks to multiday bike tours in Oregon and Washington take
all the hell and hassle out of route planning. From detailed maps and
cue sheets to tips about where to eat pie, sip pinot or take a yoga
class, Thalheimer offers trips both easy and epic. She’s particularly
tuned into options for those on a budget.

If you’re an out-of-towner pedaling through Portland,
you’d be hard pressed to find a better place to stay than this hostel,
located along uber-bikey North Williams Avenue. Located inside a gutted
and converted 1888 duplex whose walls have been lined with framed bike
art, it’s got 10 beds, indoor bike lockup and shop space with mechanic
stands and tools, and often hosts students taking classes in mechanics
or frame-building at the nearby United Bicycle Institute.

Out on the road

Where to go once you’re out of Portland? In Newport, check out Bike Newport (150
NW 6th St., 541-265-9917, bikenewport.net), which caters to bike
tourists and has a shower, laundry facilities and a comfy lounge with
wifi. Down in Eugene, Arriving by Bike (2705 Willamette St.,
541-484-5410, arrivingbybike.com) offers top-notch repairs, a big
inventory of apparel and accessories (and other fun stuff like jewelry
and greeting cards), and staff knowledgeable about touring in the area.
Hood River’s Discover Bicycles (210 State St., 541-386-4820,
discoverbicycles.com) is a full-service shop that also offers rentals
and riding clinics. In Bend, Crow’s Feet Commons (875 NW Brooks
St., 541-728-0066, crowsfeetcommons.com) has beer, coffee and lots of
organized rides, and the all-purpose shop also rents fat bikes for
taking into the snow.